Special Occasions

Bible Study Extras

Ideas to "Liven-Up" Prayer Meetings

Many of our churches have weekly prayer meetings. You may also have a family prayer time or special prayer group time. Prayer is vital communication with our heavenly Father and essential to sound Bible Study.

Recently we had a request for creative ideas to help "liven up" weekly prayer meetings.

Following are some ideas we shared, but we would also like to ask you, our readers, to send in your own ideas to share.

Just fill out a contact form under the "Contact Us" tab. Also, let us know if you give us permission to post them on our site to share. Thanks!

Of course these are not to take away from the main reason for prayer meetings - PRAYER, but they are to help stimulate and enhance our times together in prayer.

Two quotes that Jeff (my husband) used recently in one of his sermons were:

*John Bunyan, the great Christian once said, "When you pray it would be better to let your heart be without words, than to let your words be without heart."

*Charles Spurgeon said, "The prayer of the heart is the heart of prayer."

The essence of prayer is to share our hearts with our Heavenly Father. I hope these ideas will help refresh our hearts to do just that.

A few things that my husband uses that keep prayer meeting short, but add excitement are:

*He begins with singingto bring us into a time of worship - usually a simple chorus that puts our focus on praise.

*Praise prayers: A time of simple sentence prayer open for anyone to voice a sentence prayer of praise; the key is that the focus is on praise and thanksgiving. We have intercessory prayer a little later.

*Another important part is a short time of encouragement since we all need it in the middle of a busy week. He'll
say find three or four people that are "wearing the same color as you," or that "have the same hair color," etc. and
encourage them - at least tell them they "smell good!" :) We also have a time of intercession for others and a
short Bible study. The variety keeps it up-beat.

*Many times he includes a few Bible trivia questions at the bottom of the prayer list sheet. Our church family
really enjoys the challenge and chance to refresh some tidbits of Bible knowledge.

Other ideas:

Prayer meeting themes:

*You could also use prayer themes. Themes help keep things changed up. For example:

"Color theme"- Ask people to think of something to praise God for that is the color of something they are wearing -
ex: blue - give thanks for beautiful sky, birds, the eyes of my child, etc. It challenges us to think of things
that we may otherwise take for granted and it helps draw people into participation. Remind them they can do this
everyday in the midst of their busy lives.

"Countries theme"- each week highlight a different country and make a point to pray for specific missionaries stationed there. Have a map displayed and give a few interesting facts about the country.

"Photo or picture theme" - Many of us are visual; have people bring a photo or picture of those they would like to
pray for - even if it is a magazine picture - soldiers for instance. During a quiet time of prayer, pass the
pictures as each member prays over them. Prayer needs can be written or attached to the back of pictures.

Treats:

*Everyone loves a treat. Pass out pieces of gum and challenge them to stick with prayer even when it seems God
isn't answering; sometimes He wants to work in us while we wait! Or pass out individually wrapped lifesavers and
tell them they are lifesavers as they are praying for the needs of others and salvation of the lost.

Lessons to share our faith:

*Include a short time of learning creative ways of sharing our faith. Check out the Dare2Share link on our youth
page. It has ideas using recent popular movies, etc.

Birthday prayer groups:

*Have everyone divide into groups by the months in which they were born. Give each group a list of the prayer needs; they can also voice others within thier group. Give them the option of opening up for anyone to pray, have a few volunteers to pray, or designate a leader to voice the prayers. Also, challenge them to continue praying for those within their birthday group during the next week.

One idea I am using in our prayer meetings is place various items in a large fabric bag (paper of plastic will do)and allow people to put their hands inside and take the first thing they touch. Then they are to find a partner and pray for the person, place or thing that item represents.

Be extra creative and place small toy/items found around the home, church or at a dollar store and ask people to pray for whatever the item reminds them of.

Bible Object Lessons:

* Brief object lessons for prayer meetings:
will remind them during the week of the teachings when they see the everyday objects. Ex: Cell phone - we can call God from anywhere, at anytime. These sound so simple, but we all need little reminders during the busy chaos of life.

As we've said on our site - variety is the spice of life, Bible study, & even prayer meetings. :)

I hope these ideas help a little. If nothing else, maybe they will spark an idea in you.